Nottingham is a city, unitary authority, and county town of Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands of England. The centre of Nottingham lies on the River Leen and its southern boundary follows the course of the River Trent, which flows from Stoke to the Humber. According to the 2001 census, Nottingham had an estimated city population of 275,100 which increased to an estimated 278,700 in 2005. The Nottingham Urban Area conurbation (which includes surrounding suburbs outside the city boundary such as Arnold, Carlton, West Bridgford and neighbouring towns) has a population of 666,358 (2001 figures). Nottingham is a member of the English Core Cities Group. The heart of Nottingham City Centre is the Old Market Square, where a controversial major redevelopment was completed in May 2007. Most of the main shopping streets surround the square. The Council House, which sits at the East end of the square, can be seen for miles around due to its dome which rises 200ft above the city. Inside the Council House is the Exchange Arcade, a shopping centre. A bohemian quarter of the city known as Hockley is situated to the east of the city, close to the Lace Market area. There are two main shopping centres in Nottingham: Victoria Centre and Broadmarsh. Work on redeveloping the Broadmarsh Shopping Centre at a cost of £400 million (creating 300 stores, 136,000 sq m of shoping space) is to start in 2008. Debenhams and Marks and Spencers are to be the anchors of the new Centre, which will be open in 2011. Smaller shopping centres are the The Exchange Arcade, the Flying Horse Walk (once a famous hotel) and new developments in Trinity Square and The Pod. The new developments will increase the shopping sales area in the city centre by 28% to 4.3 million square feet. The Bridlesmith Gate area has numerous designer shops, and is the home of the original Paul Smith boutique. There are also various side streets and alleys that hide some interesting and often overlooked buildings and shops - streets such as Poultry Walk, West End Arcade and Hurts Yard. These are home to many specialist shops. More on Nottingham 

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